


Galaxy Eyes

by Leech_Inkwell



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday Party, Cake, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Mother-Child Relationship, parenting is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21935488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leech_Inkwell/pseuds/Leech_Inkwell
Summary: Caring for a human child can be tough.Thankfully, baking solves all issues.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	1. If You do the Cooking by the Book

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buttercupful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttercupful/gifts).



> Hello, Ten! 
> 
> This is a gift for the Undertale Secret Santa!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.

Tomorrow was Asriel’s birthday, and Toriel was in the kitchen, thinking of all the preparations she had to do. She went through a mental checklist of everything.

Asgore had already gone out and bought all of the decorations. He and Toriel were going to put them up after everyone was asleep. They also bought Asriel his birthday gifts, but Toriel felt as if she was missing something. 

What could it have been?

Oh! The cake!

Toriel couldn’t believe that she had almost forgotten. As she got the necessary ingredients out, she thought of what type of cake to make.

Strawberry? Red velvet? Chocolate?

Snail. It was one of Asriel’s favorites, after all.

But before Toriel could get the snails out, she heard a small shuffling coming from the living room. She turned around and peeked through the doorway.

Toriel sighed as she discreetly watched the small human child. The child--Chara--was sitting at the table, drawing on a piece of paper. Their eyes were blank, devoid of any emotion that she could understand.

It had been a few months since Chara fell from the surface, but she still did not know anything about them. Their past, their interests, their desires were all still a mystery to Toriel. She didn't even know the child's name until Asriel mentioned it offhandedly a couple of weeks ago.

Truthfully, they only seemed to open up to Asriel, which was a good thing, of course! Her son has never had a close friend before, and she was glad he had someone to talk to. Chara and Asriel talked and whispered everything to each other under the comfort of Asriel’s room.

However, the fact that Chara refused to talk to her and Asgore saddened her deeply. At first, Toriel was fine with it; all children need their personal space, after all. But as the weeks turned into months, she felt great pain for this child. Although Toriel could never tell what exactly Chara was feeling at any given moment, she could still sense that something was wrong. Call it motherly instinct, if you will. 

Chara came from a not so loving world. 

Toriel desperately wanted to speak with Chara; to tell them that everything will be okay: they were family.

However, all she ever received was a nod or a shake of the head. Still, she would never force Chara to do anything they did not want to do, but she still tried to engage them in things with limited success.

Like now, for instance.

"Good morning, Chara," Toriel said, walking over to them from her hiding place, "What are you drawing?"

Instead of answering, they pointed to their drawing: a yellow flower with a green stem.

"Oh, that is a wonderful flower! May I hang this on the wall?"

Chara shook their head no. They picked up a blue crayon and started to color in the sky.

Suddenly, an idea struck the Queen. She quickly darted her eyes around to check if anybody watching her. She was in the clear, so she leaned in and whispered, "Would you like to hear a secret, Chara?" 

This time, they didn't respond at all, opting to continue coloring their picture. But Chara didn't get up and walk away, which was what they usually did when they did not want to listen to her. Toriel took this as an invitation to continue speaking, "Tomorrow is Asriel's birthday, and I would like to do something special for him."

Immediately, Chara stopped coloring. They perked up and watched Toriel with those deep, brown eyes of theirs. What kind of person was under that infinite galaxy? Would she ever find out?

"I was hoping that you would be able to assist me. Are you willing to help, my dear?"

Almost eagerly, Chara nodded. They must have cared so much for Asriel. It made Toriel's heart heavy.

"It is top secret, however, so do you promise not to tell Asriel?"

Chara's eyes were still blank, but they listened attentively.

"Alright, then. We are going to make," Toriel paused for dramatic effect, "a snail cake for Asriel’s birthday!"

Chara looked away. For a moment, Toriel was worried that she had said something wrong. 

Then Chara, for the first time, mumbled, "A cake for Asriel…" Their voice was soft and somewhat croaky. It was evident that they didn’t talk often, only with their brother.

"Yes!" Toriel laughed louder than she had intended, surprised by Chara's verbal response, "A cake for Asriel!" She stopped and clasped her hand over her mouth, “Oh! My apologies. We are supposed to keep this a secret for Asriel’s surprise.” She whispered again, quieter this time, “Would you like to help me bake?”

In response, Chara pushed their drawing away and stood up. Toriel smiled, “Thank you so much, my dear. Here,” Toriel held out her hand for Chara to hold.

However, Chara just ignored her and walked into the kitchen by themselves. 

Could she ever understand them? 

Toriel hoped so with all of her soul. Every child, human or monster, deserved love.

She just hoped that Chara would realize this, too.

When Toriel finally stepped into the kitchen, Chara had already pulled up a stool. They were standing on it in front of the counter, waiting for her. Smiling, Toriel walked up next to them.

“You seem very eager to help, my dear. Thank you,” Toriel said, “Now, let us start.”

Chara seemed to already know how to bake because they started to gather all of the wet ingredients into the bowl. They cracked three eggs into the bowl, while Toriel mixed in the butter. This made the baking experience very quiet, which was quite calming. The only noise would be the occasional bump of the milk carton or the whisking of the wet ingredients. 

When it was time, Toriel reached up to the top cupboard to get her bowl of fresh snails. As she brought the bowl down, she couldn’t help but chuckle at Chara’s disgusted expression.

She held the bowl out towards them, “Would you like to try one, Chara? I know that humans do not eat snails very often, but they are very tasty, I promise.” For emphasis, Toriel plucked one snail out of the bowl and ate it.

Chara blinked for a moment before carefully taking a snail of their own. Slowly, they put it in their mouth, chewing thoughtfully. It took them a few seconds for them to finally whisper, “Wicked,” in response.

Toriel smiled, slightly confused, “Wicked? What is the meaning of that word?”

“It means sick.”

“Sick? Are you sick, Chara? That is not good; let me check you for a fever,” Toriel placed the back of her hand on their forehead. She didn’t sense any heat, “I...I do not feel anything out of the ordinary. Should I get a thermometer?”

Chara just shook their head and dumped the snails into the bowl, leaving a concerned Toriel. She let the matter drop, “Alright, but if you ever feel as if you have a scratchy throat or an upset stomach, please tell me. Okay, my ch--dear?”

They mumbled something that Toriel couldn’t quite catch while pouring the dry ingredients into the wet ones. Toriel got the whisk that she’d been using and whisked all of it until the batter was a smooth, frothy texture. Then, both of them poured the batter into the cake pan.

Leaning over, Chara dipped their finger into the cake batter and licked it. They hummed, “Needs more chocolate.”

“We will make a chocolate cake for your birthday, alright?”

Toriel did not have a clue when Chara’s birthday was. She didn’t even know how old they were. She hoped that one day they would trust her enough to tell her.

“Now we put it into the oven,” Chara grabbed the bowl and started to carry it there before Toriel stopped them.

She gently took the cake pan back and set it back on the counter. “Now, now, Chara, We do not need an oven,” Toriel paused as warmth enveloped in her right hand, “when we have _magic_ on our side!” At the word ‘magic’ a fireball wooshed into existence in her hand, casting an orange glow on the kitchen.

Toriel looked over at Chara. They were too busy concentrating on the fireball to notice, however. Chara’s mouth was slack, as their eyes widened. Toriel could have sworn that she saw a flicker, a spark in their eyes. Their eyes practically glowed orange as they let out a small gasp.

Such a beautiful galaxy.

Finally, they whispered, “H-how…? How did you do that?” Their face glowed in awe.

“Magic.”

Chara managed to pull their gaze away from the allure of the fireball, “But how? Certainly, there is an explanation for all of...this.” They gestured towards the fire, careful as to not touch it.

"Monsters do not seek an answer for everything, Chara. Sometimes magic,” Toriel paused, thinking over her words carefully, “and love is enough.”

"Can every monster do this?"

"No, magic is dependent on many factors, like personality, species, etc. However, most monsters are indeed capable of magic."

"Even Asriel?" They said it so quietly that Toriel almost didn't hear it.

"Not yet. Asriel is much too young to be able to perform magic. Perhaps when he is older."

Chara closed their eyes and sighed. To Toriel, it almost sounded like a sigh of relief. Why would they be relieved? Was something ailing them?

Toriel was about to ask them what was wrong when they paused and stared at her hand. Chara maneuvered their tiny hands in front of Toriel's hand, enough to feel the flame.

Toriel smiled, "Would you like to feel it?"

Chara glanced up, soft, "Wouldn't that hurt?" 

"Oh no, of course not. Do not worry, Chara, only the intention can harm, and trust me when I say that I will never intend to harm you."

Gently, Chara placed both of their hands into Toriel's one and cupped the flames. It was then that Toriel realized how big she was compared to Chara. Both of their human hands could fit in her one paw. It made her think about how scary this must have been for them. Being whisked away from home is never easy, especially when everything is so different from home.

Toriel’s heart ached.

But now...they didn’t look scared, unhappy, or emotionless as the orange warmth flickered over their face. In fact, they looked amazed, happy, and brimming with...with emotions. Chara stared into both of their hands in wonderment, playing with the fire, experimenting. It was a wonderful sight, watching Chara be happy for the first time. She wished this moment could last forever.

Chara muttered something, pulling Toriel out of her thoughts.

“Could you say that, again, Chara? I did not hear what you said,” Toriel said.

“It’s--” Chara cleared their throat, “It’s really warm.”

“That warmth,” Toriel, sighed, looking into Chara’s eyes, “That warmth is my love for my family. It is my love for Asgore, Asriel, and of course, you, my child.”

Chara’s gaze dropped to the floor.

Toriel gasped, realizing what she had said. The flames extinguished as she brought both of her hands up to hide her gaping mouth. She had been trying to avoid using the words ‘my child’ because of how uncomfortable it made Chara when she first used it.

When Asriel first brought Chara to his home, Toriel offered them a pie to calm their nerves. She asked them, “Would you like a butterscotch pie, my child?” It came so naturally to her, but Chara responded by walking straight out of the house. They didn’t come back in until after Asriel managed to coax them. Afterward, Toriel never said ‘my child’ towards them. 

Until now.

“Ah, my apologies, Chara. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable. I wi--”

“No,” Chara interrupted, “That’s...it’s fine. I mean, it is fine.” Their eyes refused to leave the floor.

“Are you sure?” Toriel asked, “You do not sound fine.”

Chara glanced at the cake batter, “It is just…” They paused, seemingly searching for the right words, “Did you mean it? What you said?”

“About what?”

“About...about what you said about your love for…” their voice quieted down to an almost soundless whisper of “me.”

Toriel smiled and reached out to tuck a lock of Chara’s hair behind their ear, “Every word, my child, and more. You are the hope for all of monster-kind. I love you.”

They took a deep breath and nodded. After a moment, Chara finally looked up, smiling. It was small and crooked, but it was there. 

“Can we continue on the cake, now?”

“Of course,”

Again, Toriel produced a fireball in her hands, as Chara watched with amazement. She let the fire gently surround the cake pan. After a minute or two, the flames disappeared, and in its place was a fully baked cake.  
“Fascinating…” Chara mumbled.

“It truly is,” Toriel nodded, “Now, let us put the cake in the fridge, so it can cool down enough to decorate.”

“Don’t you have any magic that can cool the cake instantly?”

Toriel laughed, “Sadly, I do not, but this will only take a few minutes. We can plan how to decorate the cake while it cools.”

While Toriel placed the snail cake into the fridge, she asked, “How would you like to decorate it, my child?”

“Green.”

“Green? Is that all?”

Chara nodded, determined to decorate the cake with...green.

Toriel hummed, “Alright, if that is what you wish.”

When the cake was cool enough to decorate, Toriel let Chara have full reign on frosting duty. True to their word, the cake was indeed green. The frosting itself was a dark green, while the accents were lighter in color. 

Toriel had to admit that it took her a second too long to realize that Chara was decorating the cake in Asriel’s favorite colors. She sighed.

Chara added a splash of color by carefully piping tiny yellow flowers all over, leaving space in the middle for the birthday message. They chose white icing and started to write their message. Toriel tried to see what Chara was writing. As she looked over, they turned in such an angle that she couldn’t look.

When Chara finished, they drew back, letting Toriel read their message.

In intricate cursive, the writing read, “Happy birthday, brother son person guy Asriel.”

Toriel snorted.

Chara blushed and stuttered, “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have...I should not have done that. Here, let me scrape it off.”

Before Chara could do anything, Toriel said, “No, dear. This is perfect. Asriel will love it, trust me.” She ruffled their hair, reassuring them, “We will put Asriel’s cake back in the fridge for tomorrow, alright? Do not let Asgore eat it early,” The last part was a joke. 

Mostly.

Toriel hid Asriel’s cake behind everything else in the fridge, so Asriel (and Asgore) wouldn’t find it before the party. 

Afterward, she and Chara cleaned up their mess without much hassle. When everything was done, Toriel smiled at all of their hard work. 

“Come on, my child, would you like to help us with the decorations later tonight?” Toriel started to walk out of the kitchen. Instinctually, she let out her hand for Chara to hold. Toriel realized her mistake and was about to take it back when Chara’s hand latched on to hers. 

Toriel gasped in slight shock for a second before she smiled. Looking up, she and Chara walked out of the kitchen together.

Toriel was wrong.

Chara wasn’t devoid of emotions. 

They were brimming with them.

In fact, Chara felt a little too much.

You could see it in their eyes.


	2. Then You'll Have a Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just an epilogue of sorts.

“Happy Birthday to you!”

“Happy Birthday to you!”

As Toriel and Asgore sang Asriel the birthday song, Chara couldn’t help but sing along, as well. True, their voice was low and a tad shaky, but they were singing all the same.

Asriel beamed and when he noticed that Chara was singing too, his face lit up brighter than before, which Chara didn’t know was possible.

“Chara!” he said when the song finished, “You have a great voice! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Chara’s first reaction was to shrug and remain silent, but after sparing a glance at Toriel, they found their mouth moving to respond anyway. “I do not know. I guess I never really thought of my singing as good,” they said, louder than they intended, “But thank you.” Chara smiled.

Asriel said, “I want you to sing at all of my birthdays from now on!”

They laughed at his response, “Alright, I’ll try.”

Asriel fist-pumped the air, joyous about his luck.

“Now, children! Who’s ready for the cake?” Asgore came out of the kitchen and into the living room with the cake that Chara and Toriel had baked the day before. While Chara and Asriel were talking, Asgore had apparently gone to get the cake from the back of the fridge.

Asgore set the cake down on the table everyone was sitting at. A translucent dome covered the cake, preventing anyone from seeing anything other than a vague green blob.

Asriel jumped up and down in his seat while shouting “Cake! Cake! Cake!” 

Chara giggled and jumped with him.

“Promise me that you did not take a single bite of that cake, Asgore,” Toriel squinted, suspiciously.

“I promise,” To prove his point, Asgore held his right arm up in a pledge, “I promise that I did not take a single bit of Asriel’s very delicious cake!”

He lifted the dome up, revealing an intricately decorated cake…

...with a small slice missing.

“I only took a single slice.”

“Asgore!” Toriel shouted.

“Daaaad!” Asriel yelled at the same time, “I wanted to eat the first slice!”

Asgore smiled apologetically and scratched the back of his head, “I’m terribly sorry, dear, but your mother really has a knack for baking.” Asgore leaned down and tried to kiss Toriel on the cheek.

“Actually, my love,” She said, pushing Asgore’s face away from hers, preventing the kiss, “Chara did most of the work. They are a lovely baker.”

“Really? Well, Chara, you sure do have a gift in baking. That slice was delicious!” He leaned to kiss Chara on the top of their head. Chara let him. “Why don’t you bake me a pie for my next birthday?”

“Okay, I will do it. I like baking,” Chara said. Asgore blinked a couple of times, but other than that, he didn’t let his surprise show. 

Asgore smiled, “That’s great!”

Asriel reached over the table, trying to grab ahold his cake, but his arms were too short. “Can we,” he wheezed, “eat my cake, now?” His previous annoyance was now gone, replaced by the excitement of eating something that his best friend had made.

Toriel said, “Of course, my child, but you have to make a wish first.”

Asgore placed a single candle in the center of the cake. He lit it with his fire magic, and Chara gasped with awe as they watched the warm light flicker and dance. That would never get old; they knew.

Leaning across the table, Asriel took a deep breath and blew the single flame. It went out, smoke billowing from the candle. 

Once again, Toriel and Asgore erupted in the birthday song, clapping all the while. Afterward, Toriel sliced up the rest of the cake, handing the biggest slice to Asriel. Then, she gave a slice to Chara and herself. Toriel didn’t slice anything for Asgore, however, and simply sat down to eat her own piece. She told him to get his own slice when he asked why.

“Wow,” Asriel mumbled, face stuffed with cake, “Dad was right. You’re a great baker!” He took another big bite.

“Thank you,” They smiled, taking a tiny bite of their own. It was kind of nice.

Not the cake, but everything else.

Chara looked around. Everyone else had dissolved into a light chatter about how much Asriel had enjoyed his gifts. They watched as Asriel’s eyes lit up and glittered as he talked about his newest toy that Asgore had bought. 

They looked at the multi-colored balloons, floating throughout the house. A banner spread across the wall, reading “Happy Birthday!” Streamers hung down from the ceiling. 

Asriel wrapped his arm around Chara’s neck, bringing their attention back to the table.   
“This is the best birthday ever!” Asriel laughed, bringing Chara in closer.

This was nice.

And they were a part of it.

A family.

For the first time in a long while, Chara finally felt like they belonged.


End file.
